Joel's monastery was initially founded in the 1970s in Missoula Montana by Joel and other returned LDS missionaries, like me, Gerald Smith.
Please return all of your overdue library books.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Book of Mormon Lesson 47: “To Keep Them in the Right Way” Moroni 1–6

Lesson 47: “To Keep Them in the Right Way”

Moroni 1–6

Moroni now comes to his third and final farewell. In his first farewell, he shared the writings
of his father, Mormon. In the second, he shared his abridgement of the Book of
Ether. Now, he really has come to the end of his writings, and provides
teachings in two major sections, with the first being dealt with in this
lesson. In this lesson, Moroni deals
with important teachings regarding ordinances of the gospel.

He notes in chapter one that the Lamanites are killing
those Nephites, who will not deny the Christ.
This is 40 years after the destruction of the Nephites as a people.
Obviously, Moroni is not exactly alone among the survivors. However, they are a
continually dwindling group, and it seems that at this point, they are being
actively searched for and destroyed.
Moroni must now be constantly on the move to preserve his life. Most LDS scholars believe the Nephites’ final
battle was in Central America, and that the original hill Cumorah (where the
final battle occurred) is there. Moroni
would then have wandered off and on for decades, eventually arriving in what is
now New York State, and burying his few plates on the modern hill Cumorah.

These writings are for the future Lamanite
descendants. They need to know how to
recognize the proper forms and ordinances.

The Holy Ghost

So, what is the first and most important ordinance Moroni
shares? It is receiving the Gift of the
Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by those with Christ’s authority. Without
the Holy Ghost, the other ordinances are meaningless, as they cannot sanctify
us or make us holy. Yes, we can repent
and become guiltless through Christ’s atonement. However, with the power of the
Holy Ghost, no one can become holy enough to be exalted. It is by the power of the Holy Ghost that
angels speak, and without the Holy Ghost, we cannot speak with the tongue of
angels.

Ordination

In chapter three, we see how ordination of priests and
teachers occurred. These were not priests and teachers as we know them now:
young men in the Aaronic priesthood. Rather these were positions in the
Melchizedek Priesthood among the Nephites.
Note that the 12 disciples were known as the “elders of the Church”,
much as Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were known as the first and second
elders of the Church, when it was first organized. We do not read specifically
how other elders were chosen and ordained, but can imagine it was similar. The key here is the importance of
authority. There is a hierarchy to God’s
work upon the earth.

The Sacrament

In the Lord’s visit to the Americas, he and his disciples
provided the Sacrament on more than one occasion. We were taught the importance
of partaking it worthily, as a covenant between us and Christ.

Now, in chapters 4 and 5, Moroni will teach the future
Lamanites the sacramental prayers. These are very important for us, otherwise
Moroni would not have included them in his final words. The sacrament is a renewal of our
covenants. All of our covenants. We do renew our baptismal covenant, but it
goes beyond to reflect our receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, the
priesthood, and the temple ordinances.
While baptism by water tends to be viewed as an individual’s ordinance
and covenant with Christ, the Sacrament is a communal experience. It is here that we recognize not just our own
covenant as an individual, but as a people.
It strengthens Nephi’s teachings regarding the baptismal covenant as becoming
one as a people in Christ. It is here
that we become a holy people together, as we join to renew the covenants of
baptism, priesthood and temple.

While the prayers on the bread and water are similar,
there are some significant differences.
Why is it that the prayer on the bread includes, “keep his
commandments which he hath given them”, while the prayer on the
water/wine does not?

One reason may be that the bread represents and focuses on
the body or flesh. We are symbolically
made of two parts: flesh and water. The
body is bound to the temptations of the flesh, and as with the law of Moses,
requires law to control it. The water or wine would possibly represent the
blood that gives life to the body. There
is no law required with the blood, especially regarding the blood of Christ.
The blood of Christ cleanses our blood, or us, of all sin through
repentance. Of course, flesh and blood
do not live alone, except they are revivified by the Spirit, which is promised
to all who willingly subject their flesh to the commandments, and their life
blood to the cleansing blood of Christ.

Baptism

In chapter 6, Moroni speaks of baptism. This is a very important discourse, as short
as it is, because it speaks of what is required of a person prior to
baptism.

“Neither did they receive
any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a
contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all
their sins. “And none were received unto baptism save they took upon
them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end”
(Moroni 6:2-3).

Then, we become numbered among the saints,
once baptized and received the Holy Ghost. Baptism is a covenant of the people,
not just of the individual. Moroni then
explains what they, as a covenant people do to strengthen each other and become
a Zion people. The Holy Ghost was the
key to them becoming one people, whether praying, preaching, or singing. So it is with the Church today.

Other Links

About Me

Grew up in Missoula, MT. Retired after 20 years in the USAF.
Working as Classification Specialist for Indiana DoC.
----
Degrees:
AS in Computers,
BS in Resource Mgmt,
MA in Teaching/History
---
Great wife, 3 grown kids, 7 grandkids.